Authentic Al Pastor Recipe
Published May 5, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This delicious Authentic Mexican Tacos al Pastor is thinly sliced marinated pork roasted on a spit with pineapple for an unbelievably delicious recipe. I have a feeling these will quickly become your new favorite tacos.
I am always blown away by Mexican cuisine’s rich, delicious flavor and the love that goes into each recipe. If you want to explore some more food from Mexico then try my Birria Tacos or Chicken Tinga.
Al Pastor
Al Pastor is a Latin specialty consisting of thinly sliced marinated pork stacked on a vertical spit and roasted. The meat is thinly sliced from the spit and commonly served as tacos al pastor. They can be served as the primary protein entrée alongside Mexican Rice, Pico de Gallo, or Pineapple Salsa.
Al pastor means “shepherd style,” and it explicitly references a style of cooking spit-roasted or grilled. The history of this cooking method originated from Lebanese immigrants who settled in Puebla, Mexico, and brought their famous lamb shawarma, which is cooked on a vertical spit. Locals adapted the cooking technique and quickly evolved into their version using pork to make al pastor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pork – I prefer pork shoulder, which will be the most flavorful cut.
- Chiles – Combining ancho, guajillo, and chipotle makes for an excellent marinade.
- Citrus – You will need some oranges and limes for this.
- Vinegar – I like distilled white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar is another excellent option.
- Garlic – Several garlic cloves will make this al pastor very tasty.
- Onion – You can use a red, white, sweet, or yellow onion.
- Spices – I like to use a combination of cumin, peppercorns, and cloves.
- Herbs – Oregano is the classic herb to use in the marinade.
- Oil – Any oil will work for this. However, I prefer to use olive or avocado oil.
- Achiote – You can use achiote paste or annatto powder for the marinade.
- Salt – Use your favorite coarse salt for this recipe.
- Pineapple – I prefer fresh sliced pineapple, but you can use canned rings.
How to Make Al Pastor
Add the oil to a large saucepan over medium heat and caramelize the onions until browned while occasionally stirring. Mix in the garlic and cook it until it is fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
Stir in the cumin seeds, peppercorns, and cloves and cook for 1 minute.
Add seeded chiles and oregano and cook for 2 minutes to release some flavor.
Pour in the water and cook the chiles until they are soft and the amount of liquid is reduced by one-half.
Transfer all the ingredients in the saucepan to a blender along with the zest of 1 orange and lime and the juice of 3 oranges and two limes.
Pour in the achiote paste, vinegar, and salt, and blend quickly until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and briefly set it in the refrigerator to chill.
In the meantime, remove the bone from the pork shoulder and thinly slice the pork into roughly ¼” thick slices. Trim off any unwanted fat.
Transfer the pork to a large bowl, pour in the slightly chilled marinade, and thoroughly mix for 3 to 4 minutes until the pork slices are completely covered on all sides. Cover and place it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
Add the thin slices of marinated pork to the spit until completely stacked up. Place the pineapple slices on top of the pork.
Cook the pork on the rotisserie over low heat until it is well browned and cooked to 160° internally. The pork will cook from the outside as long as the outside pieces are browned and at 160° internally. You can begin slicing as soon as it is ready. Turn this into Tacos al Pastor.
Al Pastor Cooking Options
Most people will not have a vertical rotisserie, so here are some other options to cook at home.
- Place the thinly sliced pork onto a vertical skewer with a pan underneath, just like I did with the vertical rotisserie. Do not put pineapple on the top. Roast in the oven at 400° for about 90 minutes or until it reaches 160° internally.
- The next option would be to heat some olive or avocado oil in a vast non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the marinaded pork slices in batches, and cook while frequently flipping until lightly browned and cooked. Once cooked, thinly slice the pork and serve it.
- A great alternative to roasting the pineapple would be to cook them sliced on a pan under the broiler on high for 3 to 4 minutes per side or directly on a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly charred. Medium dice them and serve in the tacos al pastor.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 30 minutes ahead of time. Keep it warm in the oven, covered in foil, at low temperatures (200°) until it’s ready to be served.
How to Store: Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for five days. You can freeze this covered for up to 3 months. Thaw the al pastor in the refrigerator until thawed before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of al pastor to a medium-sized pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and heat over low heat until warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- You can use thinly sliced pork loin as a leaner alternative option.
- I seeded the chiles to reduce the amount of spice. Feel free to keep all or some of them in if you like heat.
- If you want to use pineapple juice in the marinade instead of oranges and limes, you can, but it cannot be marinated for more than 4 hours, or else the bromelain enzyme in the pineapple will turn the pork into mush.
- As the al pastor cooks and browns on the vertical rotisserie, you can slice it off as soon as it is done cooking. This will allow you to eat more quickly while the al pastor continues to cook as it is trimmed down to the spit.
- You aren’t eating the marinade by itself. You’re using it for seasoning and flavoring something to make it taste delicious.
More Mexican Recipes
Video
Authentic Al Pastor Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil
- 1 peeled roughly chopped yellow onion
- 10 garlic cloves
- 3 seeded ancho chiles
- 2 seeded guajillo chiles
- 1 seeded dry chipotle chile
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
- 10 peppercorns
- 2 cloves
- 2 teaspoons dry oregano
- 2 cups water
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 cup of orange juice, about 3 fresh squeezed or juiced
- ¼ cup lime juice, about 2 fresh limes
- 2 tablespoons achiote paste
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- 6 pounds of deboned thinly sliced pork shoulder, 1/4” thick slices
- 1 peeled and thickly sliced fresh pineapple, 1/2 thick
- coarse salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large saucepan over medium heat and caramelize the onions until browned while occasionally stirring, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook it until it is fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Stir in the cumin seeds, peppercorns, and cloves and cook for 1 minute.
- Add seeded chiles and oregano and cook for 2 minutes to release some flavor.
- Pour in the water and cook the chiles until they are soft and the amount of liquid is reduced by one-half, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer all the ingredients in the saucepan to a blender along with the zest of 1 orange and lime and orange and lime juice.
- Add the achiote paste, vinegar, and salt, and blend on high speed until it is very smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and briefly set it in the refrigerator to chill. You only need to get the marinade to room temperature. This marinade should be over-the-top flavorful.
- In the meantime, remove the bone from the pork shoulder and thinly slice the pork into roughly ¼” thick slices. Trim off any unwanted fat.
- Transfer the pork to a large bowl, pour in the slightly chilled marinade, and thoroughly mix for 3 to 4 minutes until the pork slices are completely covered on all sides.
- Cover and place it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
- Add the thin slices of marinated pork to a vertical spit until it is completely stacked up. Place the pineapple slices on top of the pork. If all the pineapple doesn’t fit on the spit, you can either cook the slices on a pan under the broiler on high for 3 to 4 minutes per side or directly on a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly charred. Medium dice them when they are done cooking.
- Cook the pork on the rotisserie over low heat until it is well browned and cooked to 160° internally, which takes about 90 minutes.
- As the al pastor cooks and browns on the vertical rotisserie you can slice it off as soon as it is done cooking. This will allow you to eat more quickly while the al pastor continues to cook as it is trimmed down to the spit.
If roasting in the oven, why do you say don’t add pineapple? Could you add it the last 30 minutes?
sure.
Hi Chef! I’m cooking for a crowd. Is there any way to use this marinade to cook pork shoulders low and slow like cuban pork in the oven? If so, how would you suggest doing it?
cuban pork would be a mojo marinade.
How about making this on a horizontal rotisserie ?
I’m sure you could, be sure to have a drip pan.
Thank you for the great recipe. 👍
my pleasure!
This looks divine. I am obsessed with mexican food, always have been. Thanks for the recipe!!